I just bought a used set but the leather looks and feels so real
I thought it was real leather till I looked up the name on the tag

 

Yes. I have had a few sets over the years made from real leather. I bought them because the prices were insane low because they were old models and no real harley rider buys last years fad, so I bought them. Real leather lasts me about a year, or longer depending. The constant soaking rain, polutedd water spray from the road, baking in the sun, getting snowed on, water soaked frozen, 365 days a year riding use destroys leather no matter how good you take care of it. I have not gotten around to getting more bags yet but my next set will be fake leather. Way I see it is synthetic oil is "better" so why not synthetic leather?

 

A Good set of leather bags thats taken care of will out last Ur bike.. period..

Found this below for U to read.


http://www.ebay.com/gds/PU-LEATHER-C...8377991/g.html

Genuine Leather is very durable, will last a lifetime and cost far more than Synthetic Leather. Genuine Leather will have very expressed grooves kind of like your fingerprints, and will have a rich leathery scent even when dyed. Genuine leather isn't very pliable and can withstand constant torture and punishment. It'll hold up to yanking, stretching, bending, squashing etc..Look carefully at the picture below for easy visible signs of Genuine Leather and compare them to the Synthetic PU Leather photos.
GENUINE LEATHER

PU (Poly) Synthetic Leather is a man made material that will represent the look and feel of Genuine Leather but in fact is NOT. This PU material is far less durable, considerably cheaper in cost, and may not last long if used often. This material is extremely pliable and will stretch kind of like a spandex material. It has a more shiny appearance and generally is far less thick than real leather. Grooves similar to your fingerprints are mechanically pressed into the material to give it that REAL look. These grooves are far less defined and are hairlike impressions. This material for the most part is Waterproof and easily cleaned or maintained. For persons on a tight budget this material is the way to go. It's about half the cost of real leather products and will still look awesome in your collection. If your Strict on your Leather policy, this IS NOT the way to go.



Here's a pic of mine that going on 8yrs old, IMO they still look new and no cracks, tears, or anything.




For more info

Read some of these.
https://www.google.com/search?q=dura...m=122&ie=UTF-8






.

 

That leather looks like it is leather plated plastic.

When you run leather through every rain storm you get in a year and you add things like water spray saturated with brake fluid, motor oil, tranny fluid, gear lube, engine coolant. It destroys leather. Now if the bike is left inside and the leather never sees road grime they will oitlast the bike, because it will rust to pieces from sitting there and not being ridden.

If a bike is a daily rider, then leather is going to wear out. A guy I ride with bought a set of fake leather bags that costed the same as real leather. Been on his bike for 3 years now. Thats 3x the time I had a set last me.

As always, just my rubber to the road observation and nothing more. I prefer leather, but if you ride instead of show the bike, take enviromental conditions into consideration. Road grime is not easy on organic materials.

Guess it all depends on the actual application.

 

It's up to you and what you like your bags to look like.
But real leather can be good!

On my prior bike, I had Bad&G Customs hand made saddle bags on my Dyna. They went year round...New England weather, caught in rain storms, ridden very often, got wet often when I "hosed down" the bike, ridden in below freezing weather, I live on the shoreline to often heavy fog, salt water air.

They lasted for years and looked just as good as when I got em, when I sold the bike. Matter of fact I bought them used from a forum member here.

Real leather smells good, can be soft. Loved the looks of real leather.
Once a year I take care of it by rubbing in mink oil with a rag. Takes a whopping 10 maybe 15 minutes. Probably why mine last...and others rot in a year like they claim.

Yeah PLeather can always look brand new and shiney and make your bike look like a garage queen that never gets used....but I hate that look. Like plastic parts made to look like chrome...fake.

Slowly shopping for a good pair of saddlebags for my current bike (in sig)...will be real leather only, not pleather.

 

I disagree. I have a pair of very nice boots that I had made 30 years ago that I wear 3-4 times a week that still looks great after being in rain and snow and heat and road salt and anything else you can think of riding Harley's and horses and ranching. The show character and have been resoled more times than I can count, and are still in great shape. I have a saddle that was my great grandfathers, still beautiful and comfortable. I saw a 1990 Heritage Springer that I bought new a few weeks back. Guy I sold it to still riding it, and the bags still look new with almost 200,000 on the bike.

It's all in how you care for it. Not only cleaning, but keeping it treated with a good leather sealer.

If you don't take care of it, it will dry out and crack, but taken care of it will last forever!

 

`Anybody know of a good custom leather shop in OKC, OK area?